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| A week ago, this was nice-looking cotton. |
Heavy hail wiped out whole fields south and southwest of town. The hailstones were not huge, most around marble-sized, but they fell thickly and long enough to completely cover the ground and kill the cotton. About 3,500 acres of both dryland and irrigated cotton were totally destroyed, and about 2,500 acres more were significantly damaged. Several pivots were ruined, and FM 608 was temporarily closed after the storm.
Even with hail insurance, the loss to farmers is particularly vexing as cotton is now selling for $1 a pound because of the transportation bottlenecks caused by Covid-19.
In areas where the hail was light, the rain did more good than harm, as it was the first decent shower since mid-July. The amount of rain depended on the area and ranged from less than a half-inch around Wastella to four and more in places south of town. Here in town, I had 2.25” from the storm on Thursday afternoon and .15” more when I got up Friday morning. Roscoe weatherman Kenny Landfried got an official 1.74” at his home in east Roscoe on Thursday afternoon.
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PLOWBOYS WIN 6-0 IN FIVE-PLAY FOOTBALL GAME
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| Wet cheerleaders wait in the bus for the rain to stop. It didn't. |
In probably what was the shortest game ever played in over a century of Plowboy football, Roscoe was declared the winner over Sudan Friday evening when the game was halted because of lightning and later called off when conditions didn’t improve.
The entire game lasted only two football minutes and consisted of five plays, but in that time the Plowboys made a touchdown when Jake Gonzalez ran the last 19 yards into the end zone.
The Plowboys had received the opening kickoff, started on their own 37, and driven for the score, aided by a 31-yard pass play from Jax Watts to Antonio Aguayo and two other runs by Gonzalez. The extra-point kick was no good, and with the score 6-0, the game was then halted because of the weather. Later, a Sudan administrator declared the game over as a victory for Roscoe, whose record now goes to 4-1.
This week the Plowboys have no games as they prepare for district play, which will begin next Friday when they play Ralls in Ralls.
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CROSS-COUNTRY PLOWGIRLS DISTRICT RUNNERS-UP
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| Qualifying as a team: Cameron Greenwood, Mahalia Calderon-Ruiz, Jacey Rodriquez, Mackenna Garcia, Zoey Welch, Yaniez Aguilar, and Jissel Rodriquez. |
The Plowgirls finished second at the District Meet in Coleman Monday and will be competing as a team in the Regional Cross-Country Meet in Lubbock.
Plowgirl Zoey Welch won the race, and Jissel Rodriquez was second.
On the boys’ side, Plowboys Graham Gleaton and Brayden Covington are also regional qualifiers after placing sixth and eighth respectively.
The Regional Meet will be in Lubbock Monday, October 25.
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| Qualifying as individuals: Graham Gleaton, Brayden Covington, Jissel Rodriquez, Zoey Welch, Coach Heather Greenwood. |
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PLOWBOY BAND RECEIVES FIRST-DIVISION HONORS
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| The Plowboy Band at Wylie on Saturday. |
The RCHS Plowboy Band was selected as a first-division band Saturday at the Big Country Music Festival at Wylie High School, where 24 high-school bands participated. Their show was called “The Four Elements.”
Band Director is Tommy Ray, and the Band Major is Athena Newman.
The band will next compete at the UIL Regional Marching Contest at Wylie High School on Monday, October 18.
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PLOWBOY BANNERS FEATURE RCHS STUDENTS
Last month, a group of Plowboy boosters received permission from the city to post banners of RCHS high school students, and now they are up. Each is a Plowboy or Plowgirl athlete, a cheerleader, or a band member currently involved in one or more of the school activities. There are 33 banners in all, each with a student on both sides, so 66 students in all.
Next time you’re driving around Roscoe, take a look. They’re everywhere, and you just might spot your favorite Plowboy or Plowgirl somewhere.
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COVID-19 THREAT CONTINUES TO DIMINISH
In the United States, the “delta surge” of the summer continues to recede as most states see drops in numbers of new cases (28% in last two weeks) and hospitalizations (19%). Even the number of deaths is now beginning to fall (-7%). On Friday, nevertheless, the country passed 700,000 total deaths.
Hardest hit states remain Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and West Virginia. Texas is now number 33 of U.S. states in prevalence and intensity of Covid-19.
In Texas, the numbers continue to fall. As of yesterday, 7,769 Texans were hospitalized with Covid-19, compared to 9,551 last week and 11,210 two weeks ago. The number of new cases also fell again this week with a 7-day average of 2,674 fewer than last week. The number of active cases in Texas has also fallen to 214,041 from 253,666 last week. Deaths also decreased with a seven-day average of 49 fewer than last week.
In Taylor County, the numbers are mixed. The number of active cases is lower at 2,005 compared to 2,327 a week ago. But there are 76 Covid-19 hospitalizations, 4 more than week’s 72, with 27 of those in the ICU compared to 22 a week ago. And Taylor County reported 9 more Covid-19 deaths since last Tuesday, making 40 total deaths in September and 6 so far in October.
In our four-county area, the numbers are also mixed. Nolan County now reports 43 active cases, 9 less than last week’s 52; Mitchell County reports 19 active cases, 10 more than last week’s 9; Fisher County has 10 active cases, 2 more than last week’s 8; and Scurry County has 80 active cases, 66 less than last week’s 146. Nolan County reports 51 total Covid-19 deaths, 1 more than last week with 13 in September.
Roscoe Collegiate ISD reports 1 positive student and two positive staff in Early Childhood, 1 positive staff plus 1 student and 1 staff quarantined in Elementary, and 1 positive staff in Secondary.
Here are the estimated active cases of the Big Country’s counties (compared to last week’s number in parentheses): Brown, 162 (272); Howard, 160 (197); Jones, 141 (54); Stephens, 115 (126); Scurry, 80 (146); Erath, 51 (78); Nolan, 43 (52); Coke, 31 (46); Callahan, 27 (19); Eastland, 25 (32); Mitchell, 19 (9); Comanche, 18 (25); Coleman, 17 (14); Fisher, 10 (8); Haskell, 6 (17); Runnels, 6 (10); Stonewall, 4 (7); Shackelford, 2 (5); Throckmorton, 1 (4); Kent, 1 (1); Knox, 0 (3). The total of all these counties is 1,009, a drop of 113 from last week’s 1,124. Last week also had a drop from the previous week, so the numbers continue to go in the right direction in the Big Country.
Selected west Texas counties’ estimated active cases (with last week’s in parentheses): Lubbock 3,781 (4,894); Ector (Odessa) 1,424 (1,834), Wichita (Wichita Falls) 1,378 (1,747); Midland 1,372 (1,706); Tom Green (San Angelo) 741 (1,070). The total for these counties is 7,318, a drop of 3,933 from last week’s 11,251. So, these more populated counties are also moving in the right direction.
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WEATHER REPORT: AFTER THE STORM, NICE WEATHER
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| Flags at rest during Sunday afternoon calm. |
Since last Thursday’s storm, the fall weather has been beautiful—mild daytime temperatures, light to no breezes, clear blue skies, and nice, cool evenings and nights. It’s almost like we were somewhere besides west Texas. 😉
The high temperature since last Thursday was yesterday’s 89°F. Other daily highs were in the mid-eighties and the early morning lows have all been within a degree or two of 60°. Winds have been so light as to be occasionally calm with the flags around town taking a rest from their normal flapping in the breeze. It’s been nice.
The forecast for the next week or so should be more typical for the area. Today’s high is forecast to reach only 86°, but tomorrow through Sunday, afternoon highs will be back in the 90s—93° tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday, and 90° on Sunday. Skies will be clear, south and southwest winds will be noticeable at 15-20mph, and lows will be in the mid-60s.
Chances of rain before late next week are almost nil, 0% to 3% from now through Monday.
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